Sapient Capital LLC Buys New Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 2,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 222.0% during the 3rd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $80.91 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $94.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.81. The firm has a market cap of $42.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.51.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.03). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 11.64%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Cfra restated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Mizuho lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. UBS Group lowered American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.15.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power Company, Inc, an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments.